Well, my friend at the bike shop called to tell me that the winter tires didn’t fit the Batavus. The exterior diameter, he said, was fine, but the interior diameter was too small. By this I think he means the wheel size was good, but the tire-tube diameter was not compatible.

That means that my costs for the maintenance, which included removing the wheels to do the tire fitting, stripping the old wiring for the dynamo, re-wiring the dyanmo, flipping my headlamp back to the regular position to fit under my new front basket, and fixing my gear cable came to $42.00

I know people who spend that much on gas 3 times a week.

I’ve also learned that Braun Cycle here in Kitchener is now carrying real Dutch bikes, so I’m going to give them a ring to see what they have to offer in the way of winter tires.